Let them watch cake - Great British Bake Off audience rises to a tasty 6.8 million for 2012 final

BBC2’s cookery phenomenon not only won its slot on Tuesday night but drew 2 million more viewers than last year’s final

A peak audience of 6.8m tuned in to watch 23-year-old amateur baker John Whaite defy the bookies' odds to win the final of BBC2's cookery phenomenon The Great British Bake Off last night.

According to overnight figures, the show drew an average of 6.5m viewers (a 25.3% share) across its 8pm-9pm slot on BBC2+HD – up almost 2m on last year's final audience of 4.6m and beating it’s nearest slot rival, Holby City, by a massive 1.5m.

BBC1's long-running medical drama was seen by 5.1m (19.6%) including HD viewers, while England’s washed out World Cup Qualifier with Poland – eventually postponed due to rain – drew just 4.4m during the same period on ITV1+HD.

Meanwhile, the concluding part of Sarah Beeny’s property show Double Your House for Half the Money was watched by 1.2m 4.8% on Channel4+HD, and Channel 5 documentary Serial Killing Saviour: Born to Kill? failed to break the 1m mark, with a share of just 3.5%.